Chapter 1
Hello. This is a rewrite of my previous "I Wish" story about Illyasviel von Einzbern making a wish on the Holy Grail to reincarnate into a new world with her brother Shirou. This story and Wishing for a Dragonknight are distinguished by the fact that the son of Elia Martell was not conceived in this timeline and that caused the timelines to diverge. I apologize for the inconvenience, but the chapter length inconsistency with "I Wish" had been bothering me and I decided that rewriting my story to make it more consistent would increase it's quality. I did not want to inconvenience my readers and commenters so I decided I would keep "I Wish" posted so that people would feel free to reread it if they wanted to while I was busy trying to rewrite the whole thing and to leave up my first story until I reach the point where I was in the original story. I like to reread some fanfics while I wait for an update, but I doubt "I Wish" is as high quality as the stories I like to reread. My new policy on chapters is to have the story content for each chapter be 10,000 words at the very least. I won't count what I write in my author's notes as part of those 10,000 words. I apologize for the long author's note for this chapter and I hope this hasn't been a large inconvenience for anyone. I do not own Fate Stay Night or A Song of Ice and Fire.
Chapter 1 The Children of Prophecy
Illyasviel von Einzbern had been an unfortunate girl whose life had been filled with immense suffering and despair after the loss of both her mother and father. Her life had been almost empty and very bleak until she had meet the boy who had "stolen" her father, Kiritsugu Emiya, during the Fifth Holy Grail War. Then the war attempted to claim her younger brother as another casualty and she refused to let that happen. Her foolish brother attempted to take on a Servant with the powers from a transplanted arm that was killing him. She doubted that her brother would have prevailed over Saber and enlisted the help of Sakura Matou's servant Rider. While Rider had been able to interfere in the fight and incapacitate Saber before Saber had been able to detect their presence, her brother had been too wounded by the recoil of using the heroic spirit Archer's arm and exacerbated his injuries by using the arm again to project a dagger that could separate Sakura Matou from Angra Mainyu. After Rider tested the dagger's powers on Saber and saw how it cut her Servant contract with Sakura, Rider left Illya, Shirou and Saber alone in order to reach her master as soon as possible.
Illya recalled that the Einzberns gave Kiritsugu the holy scabbard of Excalibur as a catalyst to use in the Fourth Holy Grail War and it was famous for having potent regenerative capabilities while in the presence of the mana of The Once and Future King. Illya had been able to materialize the Divine Construct that had been spiritually implanted inside of her brother and placed it next to him. After that she grabbed the prana filled dragon's blood from Saber and forced her brother to ingest it in an attempt to heal him. When that failed she beseeched the injured and dying Saber to form a pact with her in the memory of her previous association with Kiritsugu and Irisviel, momentarily forgetting that Heroic Spirits summoned in each war are only supposed to be copies from the Throne of Heroes and wouldn't have recalled any prior summoning. Saber agreed to make a pact with her and Illya ingested some of her dragon blood to create a swift and potent contract with the powerful servant. After Saber put her red and black sword in the gold and azure scabbard and placed both back in her brother's body Saber grabbed her brother and they both ran towards the Greater Grail.
Rider had been able to subdue her master before she killed Rin Tohsaka and managed to nullify Sakura's contract with Angra Mainyu with the dagger Noble Phantasm that Shirou had projected for her. When Rider and Rin were tending to the unconscious purple haired girl they then noticed Illya and Saber running towards the grail. Before they could make any attempt to stop her Illya used the connection to the Greater Grail her Dress of Heaven gave her to cast her wish.
"I wish for a world where we could all be together and our magic would be stronger than any other thaumaturgy anyone else would have. I wish for my brother to have magic that would not harm his body when it attempted to heal itself." Illya wished on the Holy Grail and she was then reincarnated into a new world.
Illyasviel von Einzbern was as good as dead now. Her sad life with brief reprieves had ended. Now she was Princess Rhaenys Targaryen. The scion of the dragon monarchs of Westeros. Her new father and mother were Prince Rhaegar Targaryen and Princess Elia Nymeros Martell. It felt a bit strange to have parents that were only a few more years older than Ilyasviel had been, but she had to admit being able to act childishly and immature is rather amusing. But there was still a problem that is progressively getting worse, also known as King Aerys Targaryen the Second of His Name. A bit of hypnosis magecraft was able to get Aerys to lash out at people who criticized her silver white hair and red eyes, apparently those were marks of someone ominous who went by the name of Bloodraven, but there were still problems. Being the only child of the heir to the Iron Throne and being simultaneously female was not a boon for Rhaegar Targaryen's interests. There are people who even support Rhaegar who find Rhaenys inadequate. There was the red haired Jon Connington who back handedly called her a delight. While she did not know how she was being insulted at the time she was not dull enough not to see the hostility and scorn in his demeanor. It did not matter that Connington or other grasping bootlickers found her inadequate. Rhaenys knew what she was worth and had more to offer Rhaegar Targaryen than they do. Even if she needed to wait until her body grew stronger to be able to withstand the use of large amounts of prana.
Her new body had powerful dragon's blood coursing through it. Not the boasted wyvern blood that the Valyrian dragon lords claimed to have, but the powerful blood of a phantasmal beast. Rhaenys was certain that the Holy Grail infused her body with the blood Saber had. Not only that she also retained her powerful Wish-Granting sorcery trait and a vast reservoir of mana to be used as she saw fit. Wish-Granting was a special ability that allowed its users to shape the world around them without having to go though the thaumaturgical process ordinary mages were forced to use. Even a buffoon could be formidable if they can alter the world with just their own will. While proper thaumaturgy minimized the energy needed to reproduce mysteries, Rhaenys's new dragon core and mana reserves were more than enough to compensate for higher energy costs.
"If only Father and Mother were willing to give me a wyvern egg I would be happy to hatch it for them and give them help." Rhaenys thought.
Prince Rhaegar had been born in the wake of a tragic and destructive attempt to hatch wyvern eggs. This incident gave him an unreasonable fear that as soon as Rhaenys is given an egg that some form of tragedy will reach her. Her mother did not share those fears but also felt that giving a very young child such a valuable object would be irresponsible and that it would be more wise to wait until they felt that Rhaenys was responsible enough to be granted a precious family heirloom. While Rhaenys appreciated her father's concern for her safety and could see the wisdom in her mother's thought process Rhaenys still felt frustrated that she was not given an egg. In the past infants were given eggs while in the cradle. Rhaenys doubted that infants showed responsibility worthy of being given an egg. While it may cause Aerys to become more hostile, even a wyvern is powerful symbol that would surely help their cause. While this world's wyverns would not likely be able to match the power of the phantasmal beasts of her old world, having even a weaker mount would certainly help their branch of their family look more worthy of inheriting the Iron Throne. Her use of magecraft was limited to more humble uses than bring dragons back into this world.
Her main use of magecraft in her new life had been for keeping herself hidden and gaining new information about the issues plaguing her new family. She learned about Aerys's madness and hostility to her father and how some people were discontent with having Elia of Dorne as the Prince of Dragonstone's wife. Aside from her hailing from Dorne people criticized her mother's health and the lack of a male heir to secure the succession for another generation. Some of the criticism was due to Rhaenys inadvertently stumbling across her father attempting to enter her mother's bedchamber while she was on bedrest trying to recover from childbirth. When she was chasing her pet it "escaped" from her bedchambers and saw her father she indignantly asked him if he was going to take his rights with her mother like Aerys did with Grandmother Rhaella. That horrified him enough to leave her mother alone to rest. As far she knew he didn't try to have sexual relations with his wife again until she fully recovered. While she wanted to have her brother Shirou with her again she was not so impatient that she would willingly risk her new mother's health when she was willing to wait. This incident made her finally get used to having a pet she didn't particularly liked at first.
Her maternal uncle Oberyn Martell gave her a black cat as a gift. He felt that a live animal would be a far more fitting gift for a young girl than some overly glorified piece of lifeless stone. While Rhaenys was certain she can get those lifeless stones to hatch with her powerful arcane abilities and was not particularly fond of cats, she graciously accepted the gift he gave her. It wouldn't due for a princess to look petulant and whiny. The cat she decided to name Ash was docile enough and she gave him a collar enchanted with healing and luck altering mysteries. This gave her the idea to give enchanted favors to the knights of the Kingsguard in case of an emergency where the royal family is put in danger. With Aerys as the head of the family an alienating and provoking a large amounts of his subjects it would only be a matter of time until someone gets tired of the Targaryens. One already died of old age and the others are going to be slipping past their prime.
Rhaenys sighed, while she can certainly have Aerys cut himself fatally on the throne and have the other "heir" Viserys be kinslayed by Aerys before he died the timing for the optimum opportunity still hasn't presented itself. Having a male heir would certainly be very helpful in gathering supporters. While she would be happy to hatch an egg they would not give her one and they kept a close enough watch on her that she couldn't try looking for one for herself. She was certain that her young age is why they keep a stern watch on her and predicted that as she became older they will get more lax. There are also those who would find some way to scapegoat the Dornish queen. While it was ludicrous to have one person take the blame for all the ills that plague the kingdom Aerys's supporters would surely try to see if blaming the Dornishwoman will allow them to keep power. She could also have Aerys kill them as well but Rhaenys doubted that having the previous king prove an incredibly murderous madman willing to kill his supporters would reflect well on Rhaegar's ascension and was certain that killing all the venal people of court would cause dissent in their rule. She hoped that proving Aerys and Viserys to be inadequate would gather enough supporters and have the opponents of her father either be too weak to oppose him or silent about their desires for a more tractable puppet monarch. To facilitate in that Rhaenys did her best to appear the model noble girl and endearing princess to the smallfolk masses. Appearances can be helpful and who would want a prematurely aged and inconstant madman when they can have the physically robust and single minded heir?
To that end they will be travelling to the Harrenhal tourney and displaying their magnificence to the noble families of the realm. There is more to Westeros than just the sycophants that Aerys had surrounded himself with. Her mother looks healthier with the rest she gotten and her father had been exercising and polishing his combative skills in the yard. She was looking forward to seeing how strong the knights of Westeros are. She also heard the whispers of how suspicious the Whents were able to afford this tourney and how it seemed likely that her father had helped fund this tourney to get noble allies to finally deal with the madman on the throne. If that were true Rhaenys felt happy that someone was finally getting proactive in solving this gradually worsening problem.
"We went through all that trouble to get people to see that the current king is not capable of acting reasonably and then my lord father goes and does this?" Rhaenys thought.
She can see the Stark girl looked surprised and a bit joyful over being given the title of Queen of Love and Beauty. Rhaenys did her best not to glare and to look stoic and composed over her lady mother being insulted in front of all the nobility that attended this tourney.
Rhaenys was not fond of wolves. She remembered how those savage animals attempted to attack her after Jubstacheit threw her out in the cold after she managed to summon Berserker before the Greater Grail provided assistance in maintaining a Servant in the world. Fortunately Berserker protected her from harm but she still held a grudge over the animals deciding to attack her when they thought she was helpless.
Rhaenys can see there were some people who looked amused over how her mother was embarrassed, others who were astonished and silent, and then there were those who were angry on her mother's, or the wolf girl's, behalf. Rhaenys grit her teeth. The delicate situation with how the current Head of the House has lost his mind needed to be dealt with carefully, if they wanted to have the kingdom accept their rule. If it hadn't been delicate she would have already compelled Aerys to kill that wretched weakling Viserys and then himself. With this debacle things are likely to escalate.
She also felt doubt worm itself inside her heart. The Einzberns did everything in their power to convince her that Kiritsugu Emiya abandoned her for Shirou's sake in order to galvanize her into killing herself for the glory of the family in the Holy Grail War. She had held some doubts that her father would have left her behind if he had been capable of retrieving her. Now it seemed like Prince Rhaegar was actually going to abandon her and his wife for the sake of siring an heir. This was clearly the work of Angra Mainyu. She knew that when she made her wish that the corrupted grail was going to attempt to twist it to become as destructive as it could be. If Shirou is born from Rhaegar Targaryen and any woman that wasn't his wife it would make any familial relationship between them much more difficult.
There was not much she could do. She was too cautious of potential consequences to start turning towards murder, or "accidents", and attempting to thaumaturgically enforce a slavish love in a person was a delicate technique that could backfire and lead to more problems for her mother. Love potions and witches are not looked at fondly in this superstitious world. She decided to just walk away with her mother and to just let the people with political power deal with this situation. It wasn't like Rhaenys was particularly suited in solving problems nonviolently.
After the whole incident with the tourney the atmosphere in Dragonstone became much less friendly. Not that it had been particularly lively before they went to Harrenhal. There were the supporters of her mother who were angry at Prince Rhaegar and were wondering if he meant to have her set aside or if he planned to take up a mistress. The supporters of Prince Rhaegar felt that her mother should just not feel any negative emotion for her husband. He did raise up her status in their eyes. Jon Connington was unsurprisingly the most obnoxious in pointing out what he viewed as Elia Martell and her little daughter's shortcomings and ingratitude. While Prince Rhaegar was not swift to fight for his wife's good name he at least got angry when Connington dared to speak ill of his young daughter.
Her new father attempted to give her splendid gifts in hopes of buying her affection. Rhaenys gave him an opportunity to show how committed he was to her by trying to see if he was willing to take the time to play childish games with her, but he was too busy reading scrolls about some Valyrian prophecy to spend time with her. He was also still not willing to give her a dragon egg, which would be the only gift that could make her be willing to be as affectionate or endearing as he wanted her to be. At the very least he was willing to get her white dresses with golden trimming and warm fur hats. It made her happy to have clothing that resembled what her first mother, Irisviel von Einzbern, liked to wear.
Princess Elia Nymeros Martell of Dorne was very visually different from Irisviel. Dark hair instead of silver white hair, dark eyes instead of red eyes, swarthy skin instead of fair skin, but they were both kind and attentive mothers. Even though her second mother is kind to her, Rhaenys was still glad that she retained the physical traits that she and Irisviel inherited from Justeaze Lizrich von Einzbern, the Holy Maiden of Winter.
Rhaenys hypothesized that when she finally grew up into an adult she would look nearly identical to the Winter Saint. Her anatomy was superficially very reminiscent of Justeaze but her organs have been altered by the phantasmal dragon's blood that courses through her veins. Given the blood's high quality and the fact the Greater Grail was what reincarnated her into her new body Rhaenys theorized that her power may even one day eclipse the Primeval model that the Einzberns took such pride in. Rhaenys's elements were Fire and Water, she internally noted that those elements are associated with the Valyrians and Rhoynar respectively, that she inherited from Kiritsugu and Irisviel. While Jubstacheit may have scoffed at Fire being the element of the commons and derided her lacking the Ether element common to most Einzbern homunculi, her two elements have a variety of potential uses and with the millennia long genetic knowledge that is infused in her soul Rhaenys was certain that any potential threat would eventually no longer be able to threaten her or any of her protectorates. Especially given her improved prana generation.
Rhaenys sighed and wondered when her parents are going to attempt to sire a male heir. After Harrrenhal their friendly, albeit not passionate, relationship became much more distant and cold. Even if her mother was not physically attracted to her husband most noblewomen are taught the importance of giving birth to an male heir. Even Rhaenys was periodically lectured on the importance of this years before she could potentially become pregnant. She knew that it was considered morally wrong to use magecraft to force people to have sexual relations, but she had to admit as time went on it became much more tempting to resort to such aggressive means. Aside from potentially repairing some damage to her parents marriage, it was growing harder and harder to keep awaiting for the birth of her younger brother. She acknowledged that it was possible that Prince Rhaegar sired him on some other woman and that she was not yet aware of it. Prince Rhaegar had a strong fondness for Summerhall. Or at least was fond of traveling there and wandering the ruins. It was perfectly possible that he had sex with some woman while on those trips.
Rhaenys knew of the resentment the Targaryens had for its bastard scions. The Blackfyres had proven themselves to be grasping, ungrateful and wretched people. Notoriously stubborn and bull headed, the Blackfyres managed to plague this kingdoms for generations and their very names became a malediction as the legacy of their defiance. But she knew that her brother, the foolish moron who pushed a heroic spirit of legend away from Berserker's wrath and had his intestines thrown across the ground, the foolish protector who refused to leave her behind to the mad Matou girl and managed to defeat the figure of legend who previously knocked out his innards for her sake. Rhaenys refused to believe such a person would callously attempt to hurt her, even if there was some grasping mistress attempting to use him to get the power of the Iron Throne.
Her life on Dragonstone would become much more enjoyable once Shirou was back in her life. The tedious training she was doing to be the ideal lady she could be was dull. While her mother was kind there was that distance that her reincarnation and the contrast between Rhaenys's chronological and biological ages creates. Her cat was pleasant enough but Rhaenys wasn't so easily entertained.
Rhaenys heard her bedchamber's door open and saw her mother walk in. She could tell that her mother was distressed and attempting to hide that from her.
"Sweetling, your loving grandfather has summoned us to King's Landing." Her mother said.
"Where is father?" Rhaenys asked.
"I do not know but I am sure he will be joining us shortly." Her mother said what Rhaenys was certain was a lie.
"Okay! Can we take my cat with us?" Rhaenys asked childishly.
"Of course. We need to make our preparations quickly though. Let my ladies help you pack your belongings and we will go see your loving grandfather." Her mother said.
Rhaenys watched Princess Elia leave the room and call out for her maids. This was bad. She could tell some form of problem has arisen and her mother was trying to keep everyone calm. Her cat's collar can be used as a listening device and Rhaenys had trained it to inconspicuously remain close to important and hidden conversations. It would certainly be helpful in finding out what went wrong.
As it turned out a lot has gone wrong. With the wolf girl going missing, Prince Rhaegar being accused of absconding with her, Brandon Stark coming to King's Landing threatening to kill the prince and ending with Aerys murdering several noblemen and their father's and demanding the heads of the wolf girl's betrothed and brother. With such a chaotic sequence of events it was not shocking that their subjects have grown tired of their monarch's lack of sanity and decided to rebel.
Rhaenys did not have much experience in ruling a country and doubted that she was capable of stopping a rebellion without having the rebels be in range of her spells. What she decided to do was create a bounded field inside Maegor's Holdfast to create a secure territory in case the castle was invaded. The pregnant Queen Rhaella and that weakling she calls her son had fled towards Dragonstone. Rhaenys has heard enough of Viserys's laughable declarations of superiority to last her a lifetime. While she would have delighted in having him killed in retribution for his petulant nonsense, she might have need to make him an ensorcelled puppet king. Her mother refused to leave her behind and Rhaenys did not see the need to have all the other Targaryens in one place where an enemy could potentially get them all. With her bounded field it was unlikely that anyone without powerful thaumaturgical senses would be able to find them, much less be able to harm them. Their personal stronghold was right next to a secret passage way, that Rhaenys filled with traps for anyone else attempting to use them, that she and her mother could use to escape.
But at the moment she left her mother unconscious in their stronghold while she attempted to extinguish the wildfire that her insane grandfather had left littered throughout the castle. She was honestly surprised that the feeble alchemist in this mystery stunted dimension were capable of creating this relatively powerful flame. But they were not capable of creating anything that she could not extinguish and she moved around the holdfast to make sure that it doesn't fall down while she and her mother attempt to escape.
Suddenly she felt someone create prana in the stronghold where she left her unconscious mother and Rhaenys ran back towards the room. The prana she felt was filled with a powerful curse she recalled that the Matou girl and Saber also had. Rhaenys tore the bottom of her dress to increase her mobility and when she reached the room she had hidden her mother in Rhaenys shattered the door with her magic. Rhaenys saw a tall and muscular man in septon robes using thin swords to pierce her mother's body and nervous system. When her mother cried out her name the man used the swords to kill her by impaling her brain. The Princess of Dorne's face was left in a horrified expression.
Rhaenys recognized this man as the moderator for the Holy Grail War she won. His name was Kirei Kotomine and he used to be an Executor for the Church. The swords this man used to murder her mother must have been the Black Keys the Executors were fond of using. She didn't understand why he would hurt her mother and was now horrified that she was in the presence of an executor.
"Lesser Grail. I must congratulate you over your victory. This new world is filled with wonders. Now, I am going to ask you a few questions about..." The moderator was attempting to say.
As soon as Rhaenys was able to see him moving she channeled as much prana as she could and attempted to flee. In a heartbeat she found herself teleported into the city of King's Landing. Rhaenys grimaced as the stench of the city assaulted her nose. She looked around and saw that the city was in chaos. Rhaenys ran towards an area where there wasn't as much violence and attempted to hide. She then detected the presence of someone heading towards her hiding spot. A bulky blonde man wearing mail armor approached her with a large grin on his face and his fingers started to unlace his breeches.
"Hey there little girl are you lost? I can take you to safety but I will need something in return from you. Just open up your mouth for me and I'll..." The blonde man said.
Before he got too close Rhaenys used her Mystic Eyes of Binding to prevent him from walking towards her. She then used her prana to utterly destroy his mind and leave his body as a thrall that she could command with thaumaturgy. After scouting the area to see if there were any more potential rapists she quickly created another bounded field to hide her presence and waited until the city was no longer dangerous to travel through. She kept her blonde puppet as a weapon in case she needed a human shield to avoid injury.
It took several hours but the city was finally less chaotic that Rhaenys felt secure enough to try to escape it. After she found a horse drawn wagon she made the blonde man ride the horse out of the city and towards safety. She kept both of them hidden to protect them from the citizens of King's Landing. After they made it out of the city Rhaenys finally let out her tears as the wagon led her towards the rural areas of the Crownlands.
Lord Eddard Stark looked sadly at his newborn nephew and wondered how everything could have gone so wrong. Lya had always been willful but he could not see how she could have possibly believed the lies Rhaegar Targaryen had told her. Ned felt saddened that the boy that Lya had high hopes for was left motherless. Jaehaerys is obviously a name that could no longer be used. It was too dangerous and Ned feared that Robert would kill his nephew as brutally as the Targaryen princess had been. Her body had been left a burned ruined and it was almost impossible to recognize it as a human body, much less a young and innocent girl. But according to Robert that had not mattered at all since the unfortunate girl had been dragonspawn and unworthy of any sympathy or humanity. Ned refused to allow his nephew to meet the same fate that his half-sister did. His nephew felt uncomfortably warm to the touch and his purple eyes left Ned feeling uneasy. Fortunately for his deception his nephew inherited the Stark brown hair and that should help keep the secret. Ned agonized over his dear sister's final words.
"Promise me Ned. Promise me."
Ned had given his sister his word and he fully intended to take her son and raise him as his own son. While the life of a bastard was hard at least his son would have a life. He would raise him with honor and love and make sure he will grow into a more honorable man than his mad ancestors. While is wife would surely be unhappy with his presence Ned was going to make sure his son was safe.
"We need to leave." Howland Reed said.
Ned nodded and took his bastard son in his arms. Howland took the greatsword of House Dayne, Dawn, and carried it with him outside the wretched tower. Ned encountered a wetnurse the Kingsguard had found for... Ned had the fortune to find a wetnurse for his bastard son and thanked the gods his son wouldn't starve to death. He decided to name his son Jon, after the foster father who protected Ned from the caprices of the Mad King. The wet nurse said his son felt to warm and Ned felt horror fill his heart. Jon was also so silent, shouldn't babes be more loud? Shouldn't they cry? Ned felt horrified and decided he and Howland needed to rush to get his son help. Ned left the defeated bodies of the three Kingsguard in place. While he would normally treat their bodies with more honor and dignity, with his son ill he could not afford to waste time.
"Promise me Ned."
Ser Gerold Hightower awakened to find himself in front of the Tower of Joy in the middle of the night. He heard Oswell Whent groaning as he also wakes up.
"I was certain that those Northmen killed me. How are we alive?" Oswell wondered.
"By the mercy of the Seven. Those Northmen seem to have left. We should check the inside of the tower." Gerold said.
When he and Oswell searched inside he did not find Lady Lyanna Stark or his new king.
"They must have taken them. We failed our own king and now he is in the hands of the enemy." Gerold said.
"Do you believe that Stark is going to become a kinslayer?" Oswell asked in horror.
"I wouldn't put it past a friend of the Usurper to be as godless as to murder his own kin and rightful king. Even if he doesn't kinslay the rightful king Stark is going to raise the king with lies about how Robert Baratheon deserves to be on the Iron Throne. I will never accept that murderer as my king." Gerold said.
Oswell nodded at his Lord Commander's words. Both of them refuse to forgive Robert Baratheon for condoning and celebrating the savage murders of Princess Elia and her helpless daughter.
"What are we going to do? The king is with the rebels right now." Oswell said.
"We must rescue the king from the rebel's clutches and raise him to retake the Iron Throne from the Usurper. We must wait until the rebels lower their guard and then we will spirit away the king. For now we should head towards Essos and get into contact with exiled loyalists like Lord Jon Connington. We will work to raise up an army to take up our king's cause. Stark can foster the king with some inadequate Northern house or abandon him in some septry or the Night's Watch, no matter what we are going to rescue the king from the loyalists." Gerold said.
"What if the Starks are as savage as the South says they are and actually murder their own kin?" Oswell asked.
"In that case Viserys will become the rightful king and we pledge our swords to him." Gerold said.
Oswell did not look thrilled at the prospect of serving Viserys and Gerold had problems blaming him for it. Viserys had been a spoiled and feeble child overly protected by his father. He was also had his father kill servants who had gained his anger over trivial reasons. This was not a person Gerold thought could be a great king, like his older brother Prince Rhaegar should have been. A stunted Dragonpit dragon who lacked the capability to grow as large as his Valyrian ancestors, to borrow the departed Princess Rhaenys's witty condemnation of her uncle.
"We swore an oath to follow the orders of our rightful king." Gerold said solemnly.
Oswell nodded grimly.
"Have you seen where Arthur went?" Oswell asked.
Gerold had not but he went outside the Tower of Joy and looked to see if he could find Arthur's corpse. He and Oswell could not and they contemplated what that could mean.
"Do you think Arthur also turned into a wight like us and wandered of earlier? Or do you think that the Northerners found him too glorious to leave to the crows like us and took his body with him?" Oswell asked morbidly.
Gerold frowned at Oswell. "This is not the time to make your japes. Arthur knows too many of the kings secrets and we must be certain that there is no chance that he would reveal those secrets." Gerold said.
"You think that Arthur would prove himself to be an oathbreaker like Barristan Selmy and the Kingslayer?" Oswell asked.
"I think that Prince Lewyn and Ser Arthur might forget who their rightful king is. Princess Elia had a niece that was of an age to marry Prince Viserys and that may cause both of these men to ignore who their rightful king is to get a Dornish queen. Viserys is not the king while King Aegon is still alive." Gerold declared.
Oswell nodded. Gerold grabbed the blood stained white gold scarf that the departed Princess Rhaenys gave him and felt motivation to get justice for her unjust murder.
"It is only though our rightful king that we can get justice for Princess Elia and her daughter, even if the Dornish are not likely to see it that way." Gerold said.
"Prince Viserys can only be king after the trueborn sons of the first son dies. But should we remain dallying here in Dorne? I am certain the Dornish would welcome the defenders of Princess Lyanna and her son with open arms." Oswell said sarcastically.
Gerold glared at Oswell but admitted that he was saying something reasonable.
"We should leave Dorne and try to see where the Usurper's friend is going to place the rightful king. An undeserving Northern house, a septry or gods forbid the wretched Night's Watch." Gerold said.
Gerold and Oswell walked away from the Tower of Joy with motivation filling their hearts.
Rhaenys Targaryen was absentmindedly humming a hymn from the Faith of Seven as she was being led throughout the rural areas of her kingdom. She did not have much piety for the Faith of Seven but the woman who had taught her this hymn had been her new mother, who had unjustly been murdered by Kirei Kotomine. While she was wary of battling a trained executor, Rhaenys refused to allow her mother's death to go down unavenged. Her new mind controlled thrall used his beasts of burden to carry his merchandise and her comfortably throughout his travels.
This one saw her at night when she didn't have a bounded field disguising her presence and decided to take advantage of the lone girl he thought was vulnerable. Given the fact having multiple men travel together might stand out and gain attention she decided that her blond man outlived his usefulness and had him stab himself in the femoral artery. Her new merchant thrall had access to bread and ale to help her get more nutritious food for her growing body. While magic can make it simple to get enough nutrients Rhaenys was honestly discontent with the taste of the food she has been eating. The Einzbern homunculi and the cooks at Dragonstone and the Red Keep were much better at creating delicious food than she was. She was using her magic to make the temperature more palatable and to make her sleeping areas more comfortable, but the one area where her magic was having problems filling a need was her lack of affection. She can watch families during tender moments and attempt to vicariously enjoy them but it just wasn't the same. And when she saw how families that didn't have feather beds share their only bed she was saddened that she didn't have anyone who would want to physically provide comfort.
Her mind controlled servants were not men she would ever want to have touching her, and she did not want to use magic to force a random peasant to pretend as if he actually cared for her. That just seemed pathetic to her.
Rhaenys was starting to not only miss her brother, but her old maids Sella and Leysritt. Rhaenys was certain that even without using the tubes that the Einzberns typically used for creating homunculi that she could recreate her maids and have dragon's blood improve their previous capabilities. Unfortunately Rhaenys needed sperm to create homunculi and she did not want to use just any man's sperm. She was certain that a Valyrian colored man would help her recreate her maids, but that colering is rather rare in the Seven Kingdoms. Rhaenys did not have enough bravery to venture back towards Dragonstone or Driftmark in search of a man with Valyrian looks. But she was improving her alchemy in hopes of being able to create better bodies for her old maids. While she doubted she could create the Dress of Heaven Rhaenys wanted her maid and not some soulless object.
"I just need to wait and one day I'll have Sella, Leysritt and Shirou back to me. After that I will train to finally take down Kirei Kotomine. After that then we can see about taking down the Baratheons from their stolen throne." Rhaenys thought.
The Queen Dowager Rhaella Targaryen had had an unhappy life but recently it managed to surprise her and become even worse. Her precious son ran off with a woman that was not his to run off with and left his wife and daughter behind. Her gooddaughter and granddaughter were brutally murdered by Tywin Lannister and all she had to remember them were white gloves with gold trimmings. Rhaella had been certain that she was going to die when she was giving birth to her daughter. As long as her child had lived she would have been fine with dying, but the gods had shown mercy towards her when they saw fit to deny it to Princess Elia and Princess Rhaenys.
Tywin Lannister had been a friend of Aerys and her but those days were long gone. It was strange thinking about how the three of them and Joanna Lannister had wanted to create a prosperous realm that surpassed that of the Old King. How laughable it was for Rhaella to have believed a man who obliterated two Houses for disrespect and defiance would want the kingdom to prosper and ignored her husband's madness out of honor of their prior companionship. Steffon's son had turned out to be a man who didn't inherit Steffon's sense of justice or honor. Murdering her granddaughter and praising it as cleansing dragonspawn from the realm would have surely horrified the son of Rhaelle Targaryen. Or mayhaps not. She was not able to see that Tywin Lannister had been a terrible beast in human form, Steffon Baratheon might have also shown such savagery if he had the opportunity to survive the shipwreck he perished in.
Rhaella Targaryen has outlived so many people she could not help but feel surprised, amused and close to bursting into tears. Princess Aliandra Martell, Lady Joanna Lannister, her son, her granddaughter, her husband. While Rhaella was filled with grief over her losses she must keep going no matter how much continuing living was hurting her. Her precious son Viserys needed her to help him grow, and Daenerys was just a babe. Who better to protect her while Viserys was growing into a man than Daenerys's own mother? Her children are what have to take priority. They have no one else to protect them. Which is why Rhaella is going to have to make a deal that was rapidly becoming more and more unpalatable.
"What do you mean I have a bastard grandson?" Rhaella asked.
Prince Oberyn Martell just smirked at her shock. It caused Rhaella grief that the son of her dear friend was so hostile towards her, but Rhaella can understand that her son Rhaegar deeply offended and didn't protect the Martell's kin as a husband should.
"Your precious whelp decided to use trees to create a mummer's farce of a wedding to the wolf slattern Lyanna Stark and eventually they gave birth to the second Daemon Blackfyre. Dorne will never allow for him to become king. Eddard Stark has taken him in as a bastard son and defiled the honor of a Dornishwoman by claiming that Ashara Dayne was the one who gave birth to that whelp." Prince Oberyn said.
Rhaella paled in horror. The Dornish will not look kindly on her grandson. She knew enough about history to recall that the Blackfyres gained immense support from people who despised the largesse Daeron the Good bestowed to the Dornish.
"I would never advocate for kinslaying my own blood." Rhaella declared.
While her grandson's existence has the potential to cause many problems with the Lannisters, Baratheon, Martells and Starks she would never kill him for the sake of getting Viserys onto a throne that has done nothing but cause her pain.
"A woman's madness to be sure. While I am of the thought that just pulling this weed is the correct decision my brother was wise enough to predict how you would react. The bastard can remain Ned Stark's son but as soon as Arianne becomes queen he must go to the Night's Watch to rot. I am certain that he will find that nest of rapists and low born mongrels to be to his liking." Prince Oberyn said with a smirk.
Rhaella was making a large decision about the life of her grandson without him being able to prevent it. It grieved her to make a large decision about his future, Rhaella had never imagined that she would do what her father Jaehaerys did with her and Aerys, but Rhaella decided that someone needed to do their duty for the interests of the House.
"The Night's Watch is certainly an honorable choice for a illegitimate child of the Starks," Rhaella was surprised that she could tell such a blatant lie without grimancing in the middle of it, "and having more stability for your niece's reign would certainly be in my interests as well as our king's."
"My sister was right. Everyone in King's Landing is as insincere as a whore with a man-maid." Prince Oberyn said.
Rhaella wondered if those were the exact words that Princess Elia used. But Rhaella could certainly agree with the spirit of the words, veteran of King's Landing court as she was.
"The Sealord of Braavos will be our witness to this betrothal contract. Wouldn't want for the king to forget his marital duties." Prince Oberyn said.
Rhaella said nothing and looked at him as stoically as she could. Prince Oberyn frowned at her and left after he saw that he was not going to get a reaction out of her. After she was alone Rhaella grimaced and tried to stop the shame that was flooding her. The Night's Watch was not a fate she would have ever wanted for any of her family. She had hoped that any supplementary children would have a home in the Citadel or the Faith. But her children needed her and there was not much Rhaella could do. She prayed to the Seven that Lord Stark was attentive enough to his nephew to make sure the Martells don't arrange an accident before her grandson was forced to go to the Wall.
Queen Dowager Rhaella Targaryen is a woman haunted by many phantoms and had been blessed with few concessions to alleviate the pain she had been forced to endure. But as a royal and a mother defending two children she could never allow herself to weep or show weakness. Rhaella might be galled by abandoning a grandson to the Night's Watch, nay forcing a child into the Night's Watch and refusing to ever welcome him or acknowledging him as a part of her family, but Rhaella had been left in a difficult position and she must make decisions for the House to prospers.
"May the Father forgive me for not providing as much protection to my grandson as I should. May the Mother show mercy towards my grandson that was so cruelly denied to his sister and father. And may the Stranger leave my loved ones be for many many years." Rhaella prayed.
Queen Rhaella gathered all her resolve and prepared to make an agreement that felt as repugnant as contracting the Faceless Men of Braavos.
Aurane Waters woke up and started getting ready for the day. After the Usurper took the Iron Throne from the rightful dragon kings the livelihood of House Velaryon had been suffering. His lord father Lord Lucerys Velaryon's health had been deteriorating after he was taken down from his high position in court. His father was not an affectionate man and he had been a harsh man especially to his baseborn son, but the man was still Aurane's father and he still felt love for him in spite of how he was treated.
His father sired him on a comely young serving maid from King's Landing who snuck into his lord father's bed and lewdly offered her nude body cheaply because of how handsome his father had been, or at least that was what his father claims what had happened. After she became pregnant his father reluctantly gave her silver stags until he had been born. After his birth his father forced his mother to leave his household and took him from her. In spite of being just a young boy Lord Lucerys felt it was prudent to let his bastard know that he was born from a grasping wanton.
Bastards have an inherently wanton nature and are well suited towards deception, according to the septons. Lord Lucerys Velaryon firmly believes that and felt that it was his duty to raise his son to fight his inner nature. His father's preferred method of enforcing discipline was placing his poor bastard over his knee and spanking his bare butt until Aurane's eyes filled with tears. His father told him that all bastards have base urges and that only firm spankings will teach Aurane not to follow what his baseborn instincts tell him to do. Aurane could not help but resent that even his young age would not earn him any leniency or affection that his father freely gave his two older brothers Monford and Monterys. His lord father said that they do not have Aurane's nature and that they don't need a firm hand like he does. That honestly hurt him and made him feel as if he wasn't a part of the Velaryon family. His father told him to stop complaining and that whining was not acceptable from Velaryon men. Aurane had been happy to be counted as a Velaryon man that he did stop complaining.
Aurane was treated physically harshly but he felt hope that one day he would be considered a true Velaryon like his hero Alyn the Oakenfist. Aurane even rationalized that all the times his father smacked his bottom were for his own good and that his father was trying to help him stop being a shame to their family. Aurane had heard that unruly crew members of a ship get flogged and counted himself lucky that his own captain, the famous Lord Lucerys Velaryon, was so merciful. His father certainly let him know that he should count himself lucky that he had a father that was preventing him from becoming a Daemon Blackfyre. Aurane took those justifications and was able to endure all the butt busting sessions where his father tried to spank his bastardly nature out of him. Aurane hopes that his father succeeds in doing it soon so that Aurane's butt would stop hurting so often.
While Aurane was still an inexperienced young boy he knew that most people had more gentle fathers. He tried to stifle the pain in his heart by saying to himself that they were trueborn and that his family were seamen who enforce order roughly. He told himself that over and over until he felt better. His oldest brother Monford was like their father and didn't show him much affection either. But Monterys was much nicer and helped Aurane learn more about sailing and playing with him until his bedtime. Monterys was so nice and special that he even managed to get a Lannister girl as his lady wife. Aurane had heard that Tywin Lannister was not a good man and an enemy of the House and Aurane felt surprise that his brother Monterys managed to redeem a bad person and make them a Velaryon. Aurane had hoped that one day his father would succeed in stopping Aurane from being a Daemon and make him a Velaryon like Monterys made Lady Lily Lannister a Velaryon.
Aurane Waters was a bastard of a wanton, but he yearned to prove himself as noble as Addam and Alyn Velaryon. After Aurane had finished getting ready he set out to finally meet his niece.
His niece Alyssane Velaryon looked a bit sick to Aurane. Her hair wasn't as golden as her lady mother's and her skin was much more pale. Even as a toddler she looked unhappy. Aurane was only a few years older than her but he felt that it was his duty took look after this new addition to the Velaryon family.
"Hello. I'm your uncle Aurane Waters." Aurane said.
Alyssane looked at him and Aurane was surprised that she could be so silent and calm.
"I am your father's... baseborn half-brother. That's why I am not a Velaryon like you." Aurane said.
Alyssane looked at him with her Lannister green eyes and still remained quiet. Aurane wanted to make her laugh and look happy but he wasn't sure what he should do.
"Are you hungry? Is that why you look unhappy? Should I ask for a wet nurse? I don't understand how I could have gotten enough from a woman's teats when I like to eat fish and meat and all the nice food that we can get here at Driftmark." Aurane babbled.
Alyssane's childish round face... glared at him and Aurane briefly felt fear at the rage that he was sure was focused on him. The moment of fear ended quickly and Aurane saw that his niece was looking tired and didn't want to respond to him. It was silly to be scared of a babe and of a girl. Aurane didn't want to tell his father because he was supposed to be a Velaryon man and Velaryon men shouldn't be scared of baby girls.
Aurane heard someone open the door and walk into his niece's bedchamber and let out a soft whimper. While Monterys said it was okay for him to see his daughter and Lady Lily didn't have a problem with him either he didn't know what his lord father would think about him being with her. His lord father was a busy man and had better things to do with his time than to listen to all the childish nonsense his baseborn bastard tried to bother him with. Aurane was sure that it was okay for him to be with his niece, his big brother Monterys said so! Aurane hoped that his lord father would listen and not hit him until he started crying again. Aurane turned around and saw that it was his brother Monterys. Monterys raised his eyebrow at Aurane's nervous expression.
"What's the matter? Have you been getting into trouble again and are hiding from father?" Monterys asked.
"No, I didn't do anything wrong! I just thought you were a septa coming to look after the babe." Aurane said.
Aurane didn't like how the septons and septas kept saying that he was a person who had a bad nature. Aurane was doing his best to be a good Velaryon boy for his honorable and just lord father, but the septons didn't think it wasn't enough. Aurane also disliked how the stern septons praised his father's effort to smack good behavior into him. Aurane saw his brother briefly frown at that before Monterys let out a grin.
"Those septas really are a drag with all their proper behavior and drivel about propriety." Monterys said.
"Enough about boring septas I heard you're going to Braavos to see the ten day celebrations. I want to go too!" Aurane whined.
Monterys gestured for Aurane to lower his voice. Aurane felt horror as he turned to look at his niece. Alyssane did not look like his loud voice bothered her. Aurane let out another whimper. If his lord father heard about him losing control of his voice and upsetting his trueborn granddaughter Aurane was certain he would get put over his lord father's knee again.
"Please don't tell pap... our lord father that I made her upset by being loud. I didn't mean to." Aurane pleaded.
Monterys looked uncomfortable looking at him. Aurane's eyes started to water.
"It's alright. There's no need for father to know. And you didn't do anything wrong. Look she's okay." Monterys said soothingly.
"Can you still take me with you? It isn't fun without you here." Aurane said sadly.
"Our father forbade it. He wants you here so that you can learn more about being a sailor and he said that going to revel in Braavos would be spoiling you." Monterys said apologetically.
Aurane felt sad that he wasn't going to go with his brother and goodsister. It would have been wonderful to leave the cold stares of Driftmark and be with his big brother without worries.
"It'll be fine. There are going to be more Unmaskings that you'll get to see, I swear. And growing into a strong sailor was your dream right? Working harder will make you shine more than the other cabin boys." Monterys said.
"Can you help me become a good sailor? Our lord father punishes me for doing wrong but he doesn't take the time to teach me how to do right." Aurane said.
"Of course. As soon as I get back from Braavos I'll teach you all about the sea life and how to outshine all the other boys." Monterys said.
Aurane smiled and decided to walk back to his chambers for privacy. While he was sad that he wouldn't get to go to Braavos Aurane felt happy that he will get to spend time with Monterys when he got back. Surely with his big brother teaching him he'll grow up stronger and finally please his lord father by becoming the man he was trying to make Aurane grow up to be.
It had been too ordinary of a day when Aurane heard that his strong and kind big brother had died in a shipwreck. In Aurane's opinion the world should have rained and covered the sun for days to mourn the loss of Monterys Velaryon. Aurane had finished his lessons for the day and received a summon from his lord father and Aurane felt worry that he disappointed his father again. What his father had to say was much worse. The gods decided to take his big brother and his wife away from him and his family. Aurane couldn't help but start sobbing at the nicest person to him at Driftmark was now gone. When his lord father walked towards him and grabbed him Aurane squealed in fear. But fortunately his lord father just hugged him and rubbed circles on his back. Aurane felt surprised because his lord father usually wasn't so kind to him.
"Father... why would the gods do this to us. The Usurper stole your rightful glory and now the gods stole Monterys. It isn't fair!" Aurane wailed.
"The world isn't fair. The gods don't deign to give us the fortune we deserve. For generations our House hasn't been getting what we deserve. It doesn't surprise me anymore that the gods would murder my own boy. Remember this Aurane. Our House, the sanctity of the Velaryon name and the family must be defended from the jackals and vultures that have been destroying our prosperity for generations. Baseborn bastard born of shame and lies you are, you must also put the family first and devote yourself to it. As a member of the House we will help you, as long as you prove yourself true. No outsider can ever be allowed to harm a member of this House"
"I am no Daemon." Aurane said.
"I won't let you become another Daemon Blackfyre." His lord father said.
"I wish I had gone with them." Aurane said. Aurane honestly would have died content with his big brother hugging him and then being welcomed into the Father's golden Heavens with Monterys. It was just so hard trying to prove himself a worthy member of the Velaryons. Aurane did his best to be a good boy and he was certain that the Father would allow him to be with his brothers and play all day in the Heavens.
"Don't say that!" His lord father growled. His fathers hand headed towards his breeches and started to pull them down. Aurane didn't care. No pain could match the one in his heart.
"I wish that I died with Monterys and Lady Lily and went to Heaven with them." Aurane repeated.
His lord father let go of his breeches and he looked at Aurane with horror. His father remained speechless and he went to get a large bottle of Arbor Red.
"Go on... son. I'll summon you when I have more need of you." His lord father said.
Aurane watched his father take large gulps of Arbor Red straight from the bottle. Aurane felt sad that he couldn't comfort his father like an honorable trueborn son like Monterys would be able to do. Aurane walked away from his father's solar. Aurane went towards his niece's bedchamber and saw that she was playing with a book. It looked like she was pretending to read it.
"Hello. Your papa is... gone. So is your lady mother." Aurane said while trying to stop himself from tearing up.
Alyssane's green eyes widened but she looked much more calm than Aurane himself felt.
"She doesn't understand the huge injustice the gods have done to her." Aurane thought.
"I know that I am not worthy enough to take Monterys's place. I'm just a bastard born from a thieving wanton. But I'll try to make sure you'll grow up happy like your... you-rr lord father would have wanted." Aurane said.
Aurane decided to leave her room before he burst into tears and made his niece panic. As soon as Aurane reached his chambers he allowed himself to weep in grief for his stolen brother.
Septon Barth had been the sixth son of a Reacher farmer and his wife. They couldn't afford feeding him and gave him to the Faith of Seven in hopes that the gods will be able to provide him a living. Barth had done his best to be an exemplary septon and man of the faith, but all his efforts brought him no satisfaction. Then it was like he was being possessed by a demon that Barth started dreaming of a man by the name of Kotomine Kirei. Barth was horrified at the sheer sadism and the pleasure they both felt in the suffering of others. As hard as Septon Barth attempted to suppress his cruel urges he succumbed after murdering a noble. After that noble violated a girl who had not yet flowered and listening to her woes and seeing how smug the noble was at being above justice Septon Barth decided to act. After abducting the noble when he was traveling away from a tavern Barth stabbed, flayed and took joy in the horror he saw in the noble's eyes. After looking at the corpse of the rapist Barth murdered in a distorted sense of justice his consciousness started to drown in the memories of the man known as Kotomine Kirei.
"I wonder if this was how Elesia felt when Michael Roa Valdamjong reincarnated into her body and laid waste to the quaint village that had been her home." Kirei Kotomine thought.
Kotomine Kirei felt flat footed when he regained his consciousness and found himself in a new world that Angra Mainyu saw fit to bestow to the winner of the Holy Grail War. It amused him that the daughter of the Magus Killer that vehemently refused the blessings of the grail would be the one to finally succeed in making a wish to it. For years after Barth's consciousness was swallowed up by Kirei's personality he kept up his high performance as a septon and added herbology and healing to the skills that he provides villages. When Kotomine heard about a Targaryen princess being born with silver white hair and red eyes Kirei was certain that it was the Einzbern's Lesser Grail who had reincarnated into becoming that princess. Kirei decided to travel towards King's Landing in hopes of eventually meeting up with the princess. After the Mad King procceded to topple his own dynasty Kirei used the skills that his time as an Executor to locate the bounded field and protections that the Lesser Grail was able to create in the Red Keep. While they weren't of low quality Kirei had more than enough experience battling mages to overcome those defensive measures. When he saw the Princess of Dorne Kirei decided that he might as well indulge in his sadism while he was there. It brought him nostalgia murdering the Lesser Grail's new "mother" like he did when he murdered the Fourth Holy Grail War's lesser grail, the homunculus known as Irisviel von Einzbern. After the grail broke down the door Kirei then murdered Elia Martell. While he was enjoying the pleasure that his mutilation and murder gave him the Lesser Grail channeled prana and was able to teleport away. Kirei had not been expecting that, teleportation had been a difficult task to accomplish according to Tokiomi Tohaska's training, but that didn't matter. The lesser grail can wait. And there was a sack in the city of King's Landing where Kirei can indulge himself. It wouldn't be like anyone would notice a few more corpses.
After the fall of the Targaryens and the rise of House Baratheon Kirei had not been certain what to do and kept traveling throughout the Reach as a septon and healer. That was until he heard certain rumors and saw the opportunity that it represented.
"WHHAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!" Septa Marianne shrieked through her gag.
Kirei had been flogging the septa's back until she had started to bleed. When Septa Marriane had grown numb to his whipping Kirei decided that he was going to rub salt on her wounds. Kirei savored the sounds of her weeping and decided that he was almost done. He used healing thaumaturgy to restore the woman's coherence.
"I am certain that you are wondering why I am doing this to you. I am an evil man who only takes joy in the suffering of others. You are not my first victim. I am certain that you have heard of my exploits with the Princess of Dorne." Kirei said.
The woman gasped in horror.
"I do not have a grievance against Dorne that I am getting reparations for. Nor do I feel any particular loathing for them that motivates my actions. I merely do what I do for the pleasure it gives me. But you provide an opportunity to get closer to Sunspear. I have heard rumors of the bastard that Prince Oberyn left on you." Kirei said.
The woman started to yell and attempted to gain the attention of anyone who could possibly save her. Too bad that the nearest person was very far away from this remote area.
"I am not going to hurt your daughter... yet. It's just that Prince Oberyn had been collecting his bastard daughter's and I am certain it was only a matter of time before he came for you... Tyene as I believe she was called. I am certain that hearing that the Reach had murdered a disgraced septa for sleeping with a Dornishman would certainly get his attention and cause him to rush here. And who better to welcome to Sunspear that the septon who protected his daughter from the monsters who would murder her mother." Kirei said.
The woman looked horrified at the thought that little Tyene would be left at his mercy. But he was not planning to hurt her so soon. It would be more amusing to raise her and hide the fact the he had been the one to murder her aunt and mother. After all Rin Tohsaka had grown into a powerful mage under his care and raising her had been a good source of amusement. Kirei decided that the time for games was finished. He used a knife to carve the words "DORNISH SLUT" on her torso and decided for the sake of nostalgia to stab her from behind, like the poor Tokiomi Tohsaka had been killed.
"This knife would make such a good present for Tyene Sand." Kirei thought with a smile.
Kirei left the mutilated corpse of Septa Marianne strung up in front of her motherhouse and waited until her young daughter saw what happened to her mother. The girl's reaction did not disappoint.
"MOTHER! MOTHER! MOTHER!" The girl started to shriek.
"Are you Tyene Sand?" Kirei asked.
The girl turned to him and looked at him in fear. Kirei did his best to memorize her reaction so that he could later take the pleasure of comparing how Tyene's loss of her mother compared to Rin's reaction of her father's death.
"If you are you must flee with me. I have heard several Reach men took a septa and murdered her for defiling the gods and her oaths by rutting with a Dornishman. If they were to find you who knows what they would do to you." Kirei said.
The girl looked nervous and did not seem to want to run away with a stranger, but the fear of suffering the same fate as her mother and likely the trust for the Faith that her motherhouse instilled in her caused the girl to listen to Kirei. Kirei had informed the motherhouse that he was going to take the girl to safety and they said that they will inform the father of where they could find them. Kirei was certain that his time alone with Tyene would be enough to have her ask Prince Oberyn Martell if he could accompany her back to Dorne. The girl nodded and did her best not to restart sobbing. Kirei led her to a horse drawn carriage and had her try to calm herself there. While Kirei had not received the training that knights are given to become effective horse men, he was a passible rider could drive a carriage through the roads.
"It might take me some time but I am certain that Prince Oberyn Martell would eventually attempt to look for his motherless bastard daughter." Kirei thought.
If the Lesser Grail attempted to seek shelter with her new "mother's" people in Dorne Kirei would be there to meet her. Kirei allowed himself to be amused by the blonde girl's sobbing. Kirei was planning on turning the girl into his next apprentice. Rin Tohsaka had prospered in his care and Kirei honestly felt rather sad that he couldn't reveal that he was the one who murdered her father and arranged for Aoi Tohsaka to become brain damaged. He would have enjoyed seeing how the proud and talented girl would have reacted to finding out all his misdeeds. She had already become miserable knowing what the Matous had been doing with her sister. If Kirei had the opportunity to apply more pressure he was certain that even the perfectionist and image conscious mage would have cracked under the strain.
As the girl continued to cry Kirei noted to himself that all of his desires were against Christian and the Faith of Seven's teachings. While Kirei had known he was evil he decided that if it was his nature to enjoy the suffering of others then he might as well revel in his nature. The Holy Grail had not given him the knowledge on why he was born the way he was. While his lifelong question had not been answered the grail gave him a new world where he was free to allow his nature to be indulged. While his father Risei and wife Claudia would be horrified if they could see him now, Kirei has long gone past the point where he attempted to live virtuously. Kirei looked forward to the day when he would get to speak to the Magus Killer's two children. While the Einzbern was entertaining on her own Kirei also wanted to speak with the red haired boy that the Magus Killer took in. His attempts to save all his loved ones while leaving many people in danger amused Kirei, as his father had had the exact opposite ideology when he had competed in the Holy Grail.
"Patience is a virtue after all. I am certain that both of Emiya's children would both be very interesting." Kirei thought.
So I again apologize if this rewrite process is rather inconvenient for you guys. It's just with inconsistent and short chapters in the beginning I felt that I could write this story better. I am pretty sure that I'll update the first chapter of "Wishing for a Dragonknight" to also meet my 10,000 word limit but that will have to wait until later. If you guys want to reread my story I'll keep "I Wish" posted up until I reach the part where they hide in Lorath. Sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for reading my work.